Boeing 787 customers report delays

Published 7:04 am Friday, November 5, 2010

The Boeing Co. battled speculation on Friday that its 787 would be delayed again after airline customers told the media that their Dreamliner deliveries had slid as much as 10 months.

Dreamliner customers Japan Airlines and Korean Air are expected delays of three months and 10 months respectively. Japan Airlines told Flightglobal on Thursday that its first 787 delivery had been bumped to June 2011 from March 2011. Korean Air told the publication that it is expecting a delay of 10 months in its 787s.

“Today’s press reports about new 787 delivery timing for several customers appear to be based on the program schedule announced in August,” wrote Lori Gunter, Boeing spokeswoman in an e-mail.

In August, Boeing announced it was pushing back the delivery of its first 787 to All Nippon Airways of Japan by three months to mid-February 2011. Boeing originally planned to deliver its first 787 in May 2008. The company has said it still expects to deliver the first 787 in February.

Boeing attributed the delay in August to the availability of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, which are one of two engines offered on the Dreamliner. During testing this summer, a Trent 1000 engine suffered an uncontained failure on a test bed.

On Thursday, an Airbus A380, flown by Qantas, also had an uncontained engine failure in parts of the engine blew out of the cover and into the wing. That engine was a Rolls’ Trent 900.

Scott Hamilton, an analyst with Leeham Co., said it’s too early to tell whether there any connection between the failure of the A380’s Trent 900 engine and the problem sustained by the 787’s Trent 1000 engine. Boeing has been working with Rolls on a fix for the Trent 1000.

Both Japan Airlines and Korean Air have ordered 787s with General Electric’s GEnx engines. Boeing’s Gunter noted that the company will be using some of the data collected from 787 test flights with Rolls engines to help certify its 787s with GE engines.

“We work with our customers on delivery schedules of individual airplanes across all models. Delivery dates can change for a variety of reasons,” Gunter wrote, regarding the carriers’ comments on delays.

After obtaining certification on its 787 from the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing will have to do some rework to the 787s already produced to ensure those jets meet the approved specifications. Boeing’s Gunter declined to comment on how much rework will be involved for those aircraft. Boeing has several 787s parked at Paine Field in Everett.

Analyst Hamilton doesn’t see just one problem as the cause behind the 10-month delay expected by Korean Air.

“It’s the accumulative effect of all the previous delays,” he said.

Boeing’s shares dropped $1.32 in after hours trading.